The Interior (Red Princess 2)

Hulan might have been able to camouflage Madame Zhang’s disapproval, but she had a far more difficult time when she and David met Vice Minister Zai later at a restaurant for dim sum. Vice Minister Zai spoke English. He was a shrewd man and a survivor of many political upheavals. Once the assortment of little dishes and miniature steamers were set on the table, he said to Hulan, “Your mother was well enough to speak with me on the phone yesterday.”

These words hit Hulan deeply. She hadn’t forgotten Jinli—she’d spoken to her mother’s nurse every day since they’d gone to Beidaihe—but she’d selfishly guarded her happiness and her privacy with David.

“I think the sea air agrees with Mama,” Hulan said. “I’m happy she’s where she can enjoy the cool ocean breezes.”

“She was away from you for many years…”

“I know this, uncle.”

Hulan always used the honorific when she wanted to imply a closer relationship. In truth, theirs was much closer than even uncle and niece. With her own father there had always been layer upon layer of hidden meaning, but with Zai, Hulan knew that his hidden meanings—even when they preyed upon her filial duties and underlying guilt—were always in her best interests.

“Then she will be returning to Beijing soon?”

“After David and I return from the countryside.”

David put down his chopsticks and smiled. “I didn’t know you were coming with me.”

“I asked Miss Quo to buy tickets for both of us.”

“She didn’t tell me,” David said.

“You didn’t ask.”

In the excitement of the last few days, David and Hulan hadn’t talked about her visit to the countryside, nor had she seen Vice Minister Zai to tell him about it. Now Hulan quickly recounted her trip and what she’d seen—the mysterious floor plans and other records Suchee had shown her, the incongruity of the death scene, the bizarre encounter she’d had in the village café, the official visit to the factory during which she’d seen little, and finally her decision that the only way to know what was going on there was to get inside.

“There’s something strange about that place,” she said. “Otherwise they would have let me see the whole facility.”

“But whatever is happening there surely has nothing to do with the suicide of your daughter’s friend,” Zai said.

“Not to mention that Knight is important to me right now,” David added. “The sale’s my main reason for being in Beijing.”

“I thought I was your reason for being here,” Hulan said.

“You know what I mean, Hulan.”

Vice Minister Zai held up his hands to silence the two of them. “There’s no need to disagree, because Hulan has no reason to go out to the countryside at all.” He turned to Hulan. “You have a job here in the city. I gave you a few personal days off to visit your friend, which you did. Now, although you have returned to the capital, you have not come back to work.”

“David needs my help getting settled in.”

“He has Miss Quo for that.” Zai paused, then said, “When I was a boy, we had a saying about women. Never come out the front gate, or walk across the second gate. Do you know what that means? In a compound like your family’s, women not only didn’t go out into the street, but most were not expected to go into the far courtyards. But you were not born in feudal times, Hulan. You don’t need to stay at home to be considered a good woman.”

Hulan blushed and looked down at her plate.

“I will put this another way,” Zai continued. “If you were anyone else, you would have already been reprimanded.”

David looked at Hulan, confused. “What’s he talking about?”

“Hulan dismissed,” Zai explained, “and you expelled from the country.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” David said.

“Foreigners are not allowed to have affairs with Chinese citizens,” Hulan said softly.

“We’re not having an affair,” David corrected.

Hulan shrugged. “You call it one thing. The government calls it another.”

Zai spoke to Hulan in Mandarin: “I protected your father for many years, Hulan. I don’t regret that. But you make a mistake if you think my actions aren’t being monitored. As for you, I want to remind you of the newspapers. You have money, but that can’t always protect you. Again, I refer to what happened to your father.”